


BOTW:RE

by Imthecattoyoursun



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: F/F, F/M, all the champions do, as mean as i can be at least, botw au, enjoy, gannon is a bitch, i can't write actions scenes to save my life, i feel really bad for zelda, like im mean to her in this story, the champions are alive, zelda has ptsd
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:48:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22249708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imthecattoyoursun/pseuds/Imthecattoyoursun
Summary: I can't add to many tags or else I'll spoil the story completely. So lemme just say that it's Zelda instead of Link waking up in the shrine of resurrection, she has her memories, and she's dealing with trauma. Also I try my best to address the mental issues that come from the games actual events. I don't have ptsd, or know anybody that has it, so I'll try my best with the information I got off the internet.CURRENTLY ON HOLDIMPORTANT: While this story won't completely follow the story of the game, it will have spoilers for BOTW and both of it'd DLC's. If you don't like spoilers, then don't read it. Kay? Thanks.
Relationships: Daruk & Link & Mipha & Revali & Urbosa & Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Paya/Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Urbosa & Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 30





	1. Waking Up after 100 Years

Everything came to her slowly, soft blue light and a gentle mechanical hum guiding her way. She fully opened her eyes to squint at the mechanics above her, raising her arm to shield her eyes from the light. A new sound, and a new sensation. Water. Cold. The girl slowly raised herself up, and the water drained from the basin completely. There was a pedestal to one side, orange and blue light coming from the object it holds. She felt drawn to it, like it might help clear the fog that shrouded her mind. The girl stood, despite her legs protesting. Every step brought soreness and pain to the girl, leaving her to wonder how long she had been laying in the basin. Reaching the pedestal, she grabbed the object, and gasped when it lit up. Memories came flooding back to her, and she stumbled backwards till she could sit against the base of the basin. “Why?” The girl shook with heavy sobs, remembering her failure pained her. She sat there for what felt like a long time. Processing her memories and her sudden awakening.

When she had calmed down, the girl finally decided to start moving. Carrying the slate with her she entered the next room, worn chests and broken crates greeted her. Kneeling, she opened the chests. A pale/torn shirt, ripped trousers, and a worn pair of shoes were inside. They weren’t the best clothes to have, but they were all the girl had to change into, not wanting to stay in her underwear. She changed, then left the room, finding herself in a cave with sunlight shining through the entrance. She left, taking in the sight before her. Hyrule Castle, no, all of Hyrlue, was in ruins. The dark calamity shrouded the castle, yet it moves no further. She looked around, seeing an old man sitting by a fire a little further down the path. “Excuse me!” She jogged forward to meet him. “Sir, could you tell me what you know about Hyrule Castle?” The old man looked at her, face shrouded by his hood. 

“Hyrule Castle?” She nodded. “Well, Legend has it that the Calamity took over after killing the champions and the crown princess… nobody knows for sure though, it has been one hundred years since the fall. The girl drops to her knees, in shock. 

“One hundred years?”

“Is something the matter young miss?” The old man offered her a hand and a baked apple. She took both gratefully. 

“I was just surprised. Thank you, for your concern.” She stuffed the apple into her pack, it’ll be nice to have when she gets hungry later.

“I see… by the way young miss-that item on your hip, I remember seeing something similar to it near the temple ruins.” 

“What? Really, thank you!” She bowed quickly then ran off, grimacing at the state of the Temple of Time. 

“Wait miss!” She skidded to a stop, as the old man caught up with her. “Here, it’s dangerous to go alone nowadays. Take this.” He held out a short sword, a soft smile on his face. 

“Thank you sir.”

The old man laughed, “Such politeness you use for an old man such as me.” The girl smiled, and placed the sword in the strap on her back. “Pardon my rudeness, but may I ask your name? You’re the first person I’ve seen up here for many years.” 

“Zelda.” The girl looked unsure, yet relieved. “My name is Zelda.”

Zelda left the old man behind. Running to the ruins of the temple.

Zelda had to fight four bokoblins just to get inside of the dilapidated building, the broken down guardians bringing back memories of her loss so many years ago. She froze when she saw the still standing statue of Hylia. Moving to stand in front of the Goddess’s statue, she began to speak. “What did I do wrong? Why did it take so long for my power to appear?! Why did I have to lose everything?!” Hylia was silent, as she always was. “Curse you.” Zelda spat out before turning back the way she came. She had kept walking, dodging and killing the few bokoblins that attacked her. Then, she found it. The pedestal stood underneath a large stone formation, several bokoblins with bows stood in the way. 

“Just great. Link would've been able to-” She stopped herself. “No, there’s no use thinking about what he would have done. You have to move forward Zelda. For Hyrule.” Zelda carefully crept up to the bokoblins and attacked.

Grabbing the weapons and arrows they dropped, she walked up and placed the Sheikah Slate on the pedestal. A short message appeared. “Watch out for falling rocks?” She had no time to figure out what that meant, as the ground started shaking, and Zelda was knocked unconscious. 

Zelda awoke to the same mechanical hum that the Sheika tech always seemed to have. Rising to her feet, the girl took note of the pedestal that had “warned” her of the falling rocks. “Blasted tech.” She dusted herself off, glaring at the Sheika symbol in front of her. “Why do you never work the way I expect you to? It’s as if-” Zelda stopped as she took in her surroundings fully. She was on a tower, raised high above the ground. Again, she was met by the sight of a destroyed Hyrule. However, this time, she could see more. The Dueling Peaks stood where they always had, off behind them yet further away, was Death Mountain. Behind the castle she could see the snowy mountains, closer to her left was a shadowy figure in the sky. “Medoh..” The divine beast was so far away, yet it was unmistakable. “One hundred years, and he still has control over them?” Zelda looked towards the southwest, where the cliffs of the Gerudo Wasteland stood still. “What else has changed?” The girl could not ponder for long though, as a cold gust of wind brought her back to awareness. “Right. Slate, meet tower.” 

‘Distilling Local Information.’ The slate read out when she placed it down. A map of the plateau now filled out on the Slate. “So the towers will fill out more of the map of Hyrule? Fascinating. At least I won’t lose my way now.” She crept closer to the edge of the tower, “However that brings forth a new question. How do I get down?” The girl looked nervously towards the holes in the towers, a solid mesh leading down from them to a platform below. “I knew I should’ve taken those climbing lessons.” Zelda ever so slowly made her way down the tower, making her way down from one platform to the next. 

She had just barely reached the bottom of the tower when a voice called out to her. “ZELDA!” The old man from before glided down to her, a rito-made paraglider assisting him. “I knew there was something special about you when you first spoke to me.” The old man nodded at her, and Zelda had to ask.

“I know you, don’t I? From what I have seen of you, you look familiar. And if it really has been one hundred years, why is someone like you up here on the plateau?” The old man laughed.

“I’m just a simple old man, my identity is nothing to concern yourself with.” He raised his staff and pointed towards a structure to their left. “Besides, I’m sure you’d be much more interested in whatever’s hiding in there.”

Zelda squinted at the structure, slowly realizing what it is. “A Shrine!” She turned to the man, “How do you know if I’ll even be able to get in there?!” She knew that raising her voice wouldn’t help, wouldn’t make the old man explain anything to her, but she couldn’t help it. Those shrines would only open for the Hero, and Link was-

A gentle hand rested on her head, and she glimpsed through the dirty blonde hair to the sad smile on the man’s face. “Trust in me, and trust in the Goddess’s will. Your Hero is not the only one allowed access to those shrines.” He gently pushed her towards the shrine. 

“Wait, is Link-!” Zelda turned back towards him, only to find that the old man had vanished. She was alone again. “Fine, I’ll check it out.” She marched forward, avoiding the bokoblin camp as she went. The shrine wasn’t far, and Zelda arrived at it’s entrance before the sun could sink any lower. “Please, just, please work.” She placed the slate onto the shrine’s pedestal. Nothing, until a slight glow spread from the slate to the rest of the shrine, turning the bright orange glow into a familiar blue. The shrine opened. “It opened? But I’m not… I…” Zelda stood in shock, the shrines had never opened before. ‘But this is not before.’ A small voice in her mind reminded her, and she had to concede. She was no longer in the Hyrule that she knew. Everything was different now that a hundred years had passed. The princess had no time to mourn those lost in the battle then, and she still had no time to mourn now. Her kingdom needed her. How much has changed, and will she be able to face it alone?

The inside of the shrine was nothing like she had expected it to be. It was dark, and far larger than she imagined it would be. Another pedestal stood off to the side, and she got the feeling she would be seeing a lot of those. “The slate goes onto the pedestal, and I get information.” She explained to herself, afterall she was going to be alone for a while, and Zelda could never stand complete silence. She had picked up the habit when Link became her knight, he rarely talked and preferred to use Zora sign instead. Zelda smiled at the thought of her knight, before remembering what had happened all those years ago. “Stop that Zelda. If you’re going to think of the past, then at least remember the good things instead of the bad.” The slate dinged, and the familiar blue ran down into it. A new rune had been added. “Magnesis. Great! I’ll be able to fight enemies and retrieve weapons more easily now.” She smiled and activated the rune. Looking through the slate and seeing the world in hues of light red was odd, but she was more interested in the solid red objects on the floor not too far from her. “A door?” It took some figuring out, but she was soon able to move the metal panels and access the underpass area it was hiding. Zelda followed the lit path, using the slate to push and pull a path for her from the solid blocks in her way. The jolt of fear that went through her when she spotted the guardian scout saddened her. It was a shame that these wonderful pieces of technology were now being used against them, but there was no way to deactivate them, not unless she was willing to wait another hundred years. The guardian was quickly disposed of with the slate, and Zelda continued to an open space where an altar stood before her. 

“Dear Princess. You have done well with the trial that was placed before you.” The girl jumped back as a mummified Sheika monk appeared on the altar before her. They raised a hand and continued speaking. “You have recovered the Magnesis rune, but there are three more you must gather.” They went silent as Zelda grabbed the slate and opened the map. “Cryonis.” A blue symbol appeared near the River of the Dead. “Stasis.” Another symbol appeared a bit behind the Temple of Time. “And Bombs.” The last symbol appeared in the middle of the Eastern Abbey. “Gather those, and then return to the temple.” The monk gave the bewildered princess a nod, before vanishing into a blue mist. Zelda looked at the map and sighed, knowing that she had a long journey ahead of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will not be having Zelda go through every single shrine in the game. I'm having her go through these four shrines because she needs as much help as she can get. We don't see much of her in the games and from what we do see, I don't think BOTW Zelda is much of a fighter. She's gonna need the runes to get to where she needs to before she's joined by the others. If you want to know what she's going through, imagine trying to play BOTW as a strictly stealth game instead of combat. This is going to be a very long story, and I'm going to do my best to make it feel like you're following Zelda through this world. Comments are greatly appreciated. Even if you don't have much to say. Love you all, and I'll see you the next chapter.


	2. Who was she?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reaching the second shrine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote what is supposed to be a minor panic attack/ptsd flashback. I don't have ptsd or know anyone with ptsd, so I don't think I portrayed it accurately in this chapter. I'm doing my best to try and be accurate while being respectful, but I don't want to trigger anyone with my stories. Sorry.

The sun had set while she had been inside of the shrine, and Zelda was reluctant to head towards the other shrines while it was dark. So she huddled into the back corner of the shrine’s entrance, hidden from anything that would pass by the shadows. The girl slept, regaining her energy for when the sun would rise again. 

The chirping of birds woke her from her restless sleep. Zelda stood, stretching her cramped muscles before opening up the map on the slate. The next closest shrine to her was in the Eastern Abey, it shouldn’t take her too long to reach it. 

The princess left the shrine, taking the long way around the makeshift lake to the tower she had activated yesterday. Reaching the base of the tower, Zelda could see a skull-like rock not too far away. The rock had several bokoblins milling around it, and she had a hunch there would be more inside of it. Pulling out the slate and looking at the map, she came up with her plan of action. “If I walk around the structure, close to the edge of the plateau, I should be safe.” Zelda nodded to herself and moved forward. Calmly making her way around the broken edges of the plateau walls. She soon came to the top of a hill overlooking the ruins of the abbey. There were rusted guardians lying around like at the temple of time. 

Zelda could see the top of the shrine peeking out over the walls, so she set forth into the ruins. She had just gotten past a guardian that was particularly stuck in the ground, when she heard it. The sound of rusted metal and earth grinding against each other, and the horrifyingly familiar beeping noise of a guardian locking onto its target. A flash of red moved in the corner of her eyes, and the princess dove backwards behind a wall. “Why is it activated?! How is it still working after all these years?!” She was breathing heavily, panic making her lose focus on the current problem facing her. How was she supposed to get to the shrine now? The lazer red light moved around as Zelda panicked, before eventually vanishing. The princess didn’t notice, fear and panic clouding her vision. The image of Link standing between her and the enemy standing at the forefront of her mind. ‘He’s going to die. He’s going to die and it’s my fault. Just like the others.’

“Zelda.”

‘He’s -’

“Zelda!”

A voice and a sudden presence shocked her out of the past. A woman clad in blue with a sorrowful expression on her face. “Wh-who are you?” The woman cradled the princesses face in her hands. 

“I understand your fear my child, but you must stay strong. Your friends are waiting for you. Be swift, go around. Use your wisdom to overcome the situation.”

“My wisdom?” The blue-haired woman smiled, gold eyes flashing with an emotion Zelda couldn’t recognize. 

“It’s always been with you, my child. Now, go.”

A cold air washed over the shell-shocked princess, and the woman vanished. “Who? What? I-” The woman’s words rang through her head. ‘Waiting for her? Her friends?’ What did she mean? “I don’t- I don’t have time for this. My kingdom needs me.” She peeked around the edge of the wall. The guardian had shut down again, but it wouldn’t stay that way if what the woman was implying was correct. She searched the area, looking for a way she could hide from the machine while getting closer to the shrine. There. A wall to the right ended before the edge of the plateau. It would let her get behind the shrine and hide her from the guardian's gaze. She crouched, readying herself. A breath. Then. She ran. Darting across the open space, reaching her goal just as the machine activated and spotted her again. 

Zelda took the chance to catch her breath now that she was hidden. “I know that I was never the most athletic, but this is just ridiculous! Unless being in the shrine of resurrection for so long causes muscle deterioration…” She trailed off. “I’ll have to write that down, unless Purha saved her research notes for future generations.” Having caught her breath, she looked at the last wall separating her from the shrine. “Okay, here we go.”

Zelda had struggled with climbing over the wall, and had practically thrown herself over the top of it, landing with a shriek that she would deny if anyone else had heard it. 

She had made it.

The second shrine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo, I'm graduating high school on Sunday. I'm fuckin terrified. Hylia help me. Enjoy the short chapter, while I keep working on a million other things. Love you all, see you all next chapter.
> 
> Also, first person to guess who the mystery lady is will get a shoutout in the notes of the next chapter and on my main tumblr account @polygenderroulette


	3. The Second Shrine

The interior of the second shrine was similar to the first; excluding the ramp leading downwards to cracked stone blocks, instead of the metal plates that were in the previous shrine. Zelda placed the slate on the pedestal and watched the script flow down the stone. “Bomb runes?” She inspected the new runes on the slate, jumping when a glowing round object appeared in front of her. The object dropped, rolling off of the pedestal and onto the floor with a heavy ‘thunk’. She looked from the object to the slate several times. “Is this…a bomb?!” Zelda nudged the bomb with her foot, accidentally sending it down the ramp to the cracked blocks in the wall. “Oops.” The princess moved so she could retrieve it, but paused before she moved too close to it. “If these new runes are bombs...then I can use them to clear the path!” She examined the slate and tapped the greyed-out round bomb icon. 

There was an explosion of blue light and an accompanying noise, and Zelda could see fragments of grey rock fly outwards and then disintegrate. She stood and walked through the now open path, seeing two different walls that she could explode. The princess blew up the wall to her left and continued through the shrine. She found a moving platform and another wall to explode in the next area. Zelda stepped onto the platform and pressed the square bomb button on the slate. She placed it gently on the edge of the platform, and stepped off once it came back to where she had started. She waited until the platform moved back to the wall before detonating it. 

The next area was a large, open space with pistons. She moved towards the right, where she could see more explodable blocks. There was a hole near the single piston, and Zelda brought out a spherical bomb and placed it inside. The bomb rolled down to the piston, and was soon launched over the area to the blocks. Zelda detonated the bomb as soon as she saw it hit the blocks. There was a faint musical tone as the pathway cleared. “Now how am I going to get across…” She eyed the piston. “I mean… it wouldn’t hurt to try?” She waited for the piston to go to its original position before stepping in front of it and bracing herself. The piston hit Zelda and launched her across to the higher area. She landed on her front with a crack. Blood dripped from her nose and her body was sore. She waited for the pain to ebb a bit before checking the damage. “Okay, never doing that again. Broken nose, bruises, and I’m bleeding like a fountain.” She held her arm under her nose as she slowly stood and made her way to the altar. 

“You seem to have sustained some damage dear Princess.” The monk appeared and raised a hand towards her. “That will not do.” Zelda felt a hot flash of pain as her nose was set, and then a tingling sensation as the bruises faded and the blood disappeared from her face and shirt. 

“Thank you…” The princess wondered how the monk managed to do that, but she didn’t ask.

“Your next goal is the third shrine, yes? I will send you to the Temple of Time, follow your map up the mountain. Good luck Princess.” The monk disappeared and Zelda’s vision was clouded by the blue sparks. She opened her eyes and found herself in the Temple of Time, just as the monk had said. 

“You’ve made it through the second Shrine.” The kind voice of the woman from before greeted her. 

“Who are you? You helped me before, why?” The woman was standing in front of the statue of Hylia, and yet compared to the goddess she looked far more graceful. 

“I must help you where Hylia failed you. We never wanted things to get to this point, and I fear that it’s her fault.” The woman sighed and looked at the statue with an expression that Zelda recognised all too well. After all, her father looked at her the same way all those years ago. It was disappointment. The woman turned her back to Hylia’s image once again and smiled at Zelda sadly. “It would be best that you wait until nightfall to make your way to the third shrine. The monsters that work for him will be asleep, and easier to get past.” 

The princess nodded, it would make sense to do so. The woman had moved closer to the princess while she was speaking, and now stood directly in front of her. “I wish I could stay by your side and guide you through the rest of your journey, however my power is weakening and I…” The woman trailed off before moving again. She embraced the princess, holding the girl’s head to her chest. The woman was cold, much colder than any race in hyrule should be. And yet, she reminded Zelda of Urbosa in a way. The woman wasn’t as tall as the gerudo chief had been, but it was close. Her pale-bluish skin was also a far cry from Urbosa’s dark complexion, but she was motherly towards Zelda in the same way the Champion had been. As if hearing her thoughts, the woman spoke again. “Free Divine Beast Vah Naboris first. For your own sake I beg. My sister will help you through the desert. As I currently am, I won’t be able to see you again unless…” She trailed off again, and despite her need to process the information that had just been given to her, she asked.

“Unless what?” The woman pulled back from the hug, and Zelda could feel warm slowly returning to her body. 

“Unless you are willing to return to where your tragedy began.” 

“What do you-” The woman handed her a thickly-binded journal.

“So you can keep track of your journey.” She disappeared as Zelda gently took the journal from her hands. And the Princess was left alone once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Three is done!!!! My offer from last chapter is still open as nobody has even tried to guess who the mystery woman is. I mean like, come on guys I won't shame you for wrong answers. Anyways, next chapter we'll be heading to the third shrine. I love you all, and I'll see you next chapter. Bye!


	4. The Third Shrine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter four is done!!! Unfortunately our mystery woman won't appear again for a while, though be may be mentioned by other characters. Nobody has figured out who she is, though Soarta is on the right track with their guess! 
> 
> Also! I set up an official tumbr for this au! It's still a work in progress, but eventually I'll have art and extra fun things from the story! 
> 
> https://botw-reoffical.tumblr.com/

Zelda had waited for nightfall by writing what she had learned in her new journal, and by taking short naps in the intact parts of the Temple. “I’ll take that woman’s advice and go to the Gerudo Wasteland territory first after I leave the plateau. And what she said after that...return to where my tragedy began? What does that mean? I can think of so many times where I could’ve done something differently. Where did it begin? And who is she?” She could’ve spent many more hours contemplating those questions, but the sun had set and she knew she had to make it up the mountain before morning. Zelda placed her journal in a small wooden chest that she had found earlier, and pushed it back into the corner. 

Leaving the building through the destroyed back of the temple, Zelda made her way up the hill to the gateway leading to the mountain base. There were monsters a ways away, but they were far enough away to not notice her. She had barely made it a few feet past the gate when the cold wind hit her. The cold made her think of the woman, but where the woman’s cold had felt soft and kind, the cold of the mountain base was harsh and cruel. 

“Young Lady?! Where are you going, come back here please!” Zelda turned and saw the old man standing on the other side of the gate. The harsh tone of his voice sounded so much like her fathers that the princess had started to tear up. She made her way back to the gate. 

“I’m heading up the mountain sir, there are two shrines up there that I need to get to. And I need to get to the first one before sunrise.” 

“Even so young lady, you’re not properly prepared for the cold.” 

“I must thank you for your concern, but-”

“I’m not stopping you Zelda.” He held out a shirt and a coat. “You can layer these over what you’re already wearing. It’ll keep you warm enough when going up there.” 

“I-I don’t know what to say. Thank you.” She took the clothes and put them on over the shirt she had gotten from the Shrine of Resurrection. The old man chuckled.

“It’s nothing, now go. Time is ticking.” Zelda nodded and turned her back towards him. Running up the path to the mountain. 

Halfway up the slope the barely there path she had been following disappeared into a rocky, snow-covered mess. “Looks like I’ll have to climb.” Zelda jumped and grabbed the ledge in front of her, pulling herself up as quietly as she could. There was a small group of bokoblins to her right, so she stayed low to the ground until she felt that she was far enough to stand. “It shouldn’t be much farther now.” She stuck to the far left side of the non-existant path, and soon reached the top. The princess searched for the shrine, but didn’t see it. “That’s odd. It should be right here.” She stopped right before a sudden drop. Zelda got to her knees and peered over the ledge. “Of course, it’s lower down. Of course it is.” There was a higher ledge to her left, so she hopped up onto it and walked. Soon she came across another drop. “It’s high, but not as high as the other one. Plus, it looks like it leads right to the shrine.” She crept over the edge carefully, gripping the top of the cliff and searching for footholds. There were none.

“Hylia help me.” Zelda muttered and braced herself before letting go of the edge. She landed with a thud into a large snowpile, and she knew that she would be feeling it for a while. “You know what would be useful?” She asked no one. “A Paraglider, like what that elderly gentleman had. I would be able to get to so many more places with something like that.” The princess groaned as she stood up, dusting the snow off herself. “No time to complain, Zelda.” She made her way towards the shrine, being careful of the cliff's edge. 

Entering the third shrine was no different to how she had entered the first two, though the inside was just as unique. A large gear made a platform spin in circles, and she could see large boulders rolling off an edge into a pit farther ahead. Placing the slate on the pedestal, she received the third rune.

“Stasis.” Zelda pointed the slate at the large gear, pushing the button when the platform was even with the ground on either side of it. The gear froze and the platform stopped moving. “Amazing, I wonder…” A metallic ticking noise could be heard from the gear. “No time to wonder then.” She raced across the platform. Behind her she could hear what sounded vaguely like shattering glass before an icon appeared on the slate. “So it needs to recharge, about half a minute to do so.” When the stasis icon lit up again she readied herself for the next part of the shrine.

She managed to freeze the boulder before it fell off into the pit, running up the slope to the next platform and turning left. A glance at the slate told her that the stasis had just worn off, and was now recharging. On the wall in front of her was a large iron hammer, and off to the side was a small walkway with another boulder blocking the way forward. The hammer was heavy. Heavier than what Zelda had expected it to be. “I don’t think I’ll be able to bring it with me.” She sighed and leaned the handle back against the wall. “How am I supposed to?” She looked at the rock blocking the way forward again. “Maybe…” She pointed the slate at it and clicked on the charged stasis. Then, walking carefully so as not to fall off, she unsheathed her short sword and smacked the hilt against the rock several times. The princess watched the yellow glow of the stasis flash quicker until it ran out. The rock moved out of its resting place, falling off the walkway into the pit.

“So stasis stores force and turns it into momentum? Interesting.” She walked up to the altar where the monks appeared. 

“Princess, you have done well to complete this trial. There is only one more shrine on this plateau. We wish you luck.” This monk kept his speech short before disappearing. The blue sparks he left behind surrounding the princess before taking her to the top of the mountain.

“Three shrines down, one more to go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zelda should be off of the plateau by chapter six. I'm so excited for her to meet with Impa again after all this time!!! Thank you for reading the story, and I hope you continue to follow and enjoy it! 
> 
> I love you all, and I'll see you next chapter!!!


	5. The Final Shrine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelda reaches the final shrine and gains some information that was previously missing. The old man adds some information of his own, but he adds to the confusion as well.

She started to head towards the final shrine, trudging along the faint path in the snow. Zelda was able to get past a lone bokoblin by ducking behind a destroyed column, and then running past when it's back was turned. The walk after that was peaceful. The princess had made it past Mount Hylia when she noticed it. 

Smoke rising into the sky. A campfire. “There must be a camp there, it's close to the shrine too.” Zelda made her way carefully to the foot of the hill the shrine was on. Sure enough, there was a camp of three bokoblins blocking her way. Quietly, she picked up a small rock by her feet and threw it towards the enemy camp. “I hope this works.” The rock hit something and startled the trio of monsters. They walked out of Zelda’s line of site. 

She creeped forward, seeing them all peering over the ledge. Grabbing a club off of the ground, Zelda moving in closer before swinging at the bokoblins. With a screech the monsters fell over the cliffside. “That takes care of that problem. Now, the shrine.”

The final shrine gave her the Cryonis rune, allowing her to create ice blocks in water. “That certainly explains the pool then.” Said pool was a shallow area of water leading to a short wall. Zelda stood in the water and pointed the slate at her feet. Pressing the cryonis rune she was raised up to the top of the wall by a block of ice appearing underneath her. On the other side of the wall was stairs leading to another pool area. 

After a turn to the right, she was met with a large metal gate. She pointed the slate at the bottom of the gate and pressed the button. The gate was easily raised by the ice, and the princess was able to walk underneath it. Before she had turned the next corner, she heard the sound of splashing water. Peering around the corner, she found the source of the noise. A mini-guardian. 

“Why must you be here?” Zelda sighed before coming up with a plan. She used cryonis to raise the guardian into the air, then threw a round bomb. The bomb rolled till it hit the base of the ice block. “Perfect.” She pointed the slate at the ice block and pressed the cryonis button again. The ice broke and the guardian fell with a spark and a thud. She then detonated the bomb. The guardian exploded, sparks and metal flying. 

Zelda continued forward, finding a broken ramp to the left. She raised one side of the ramp with ice and made her way to the top. Across the way was the altar. 

“Dear princess, you’ve done well to make it here. You’ve retrieved all of the runes, and have activated the four shrines of the plateau.” The monk bowed their head. “As a reward, I will answer a few questions. That is, if you have any.”

“I do!” She cleared her throat. “I mean- I do. Have questions, that is.” The monk moved their arm in a gesture telling her to continue. “First things, first. What happened exactly? Why did I wake up in the shrine of resurrection? Why hasn’t the calamity expanded past the castle? What happened to Link?!”

The monk waited for her to calm, before speaking again. “I know princess, that you can remember what happened one hundred years ago. However I will fill in the few gaps that have apparently appeared.” They motioned for her to sit. “When you and Link had been cornered by the guardians, the both of you were so very badly injured. In fact, the two of you were barely standing. Two fighters of the Sheika tribe appeared at that moment, and your knight, Link, had them take you away.” They paused and Zelda slowly nodded. She could faintly remember that, but it was what happened after that she was confused about. 

“Link stayed behind to continue fighting, I cannot tell you what happened to him after, only that he still lives. As for you, the scientist Purha saw it best to put you in the shrine of resurrection.” 

“And the Calamity?”

“Perhaps it is still trapped in the castle for the same reasons you retained your memories after one hundred years of slumber.”

“What reason?” The monk smiled at her.

“Divine intervention, perhaps.”

“Divine? What do you mean?”  
“Good luck princess, your journey begins here.” The monk vanished, and Zelda was taken to the outside of the shrine before she could protest. 

“Zelda!” The old man sounded surprised at her sudden appearance, though he didn’t appear surprised. “You got through all four shrines much faster than I thought you would. Only three days...well done.” He patted her back. 

“How did you?”

“Enjoy the sunrise my dear.” She looked to the north where the man was pointing and gasped. The sunrise painted the lands in shades of orange and red. With how the soft colors mixed together into a pretty picture, Zelda wished she had the camera rune on the slate. 

“It’s beautiful.” 

“Indeed it is.” He turned towards her, “I want to give you one last piece of advice before you continue your journey.” He paused, making sure Zelda was paying full attention. “This will be a long and dangerous journey. Things will be tough, and you may sometimes doubt yourself. But no matter what, my dear, you must remember what you are fighting for.” He gestured to the land around them. “Hyrule has been waiting for your return. This is your kingdom Zelda! Protect it! Save it…but save yourself as well. Enjoy life! Have fun! Be happy...that’s all I ask of you.”

“I-I don’t know what to- what do you mean?” The poor girl was confused by the man’s speech. 

“Go to the Temple of Time. You need to begin your journey.” He vanished, fading into a teal mist. 

“Sir?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zelda will be off of the plateau next chapter I swear. Also next chapter, a family reunion and Dueling Peaks! 
> 
> I love you all, and I'll see you next chapter! Bye!


	6. A Famliy Reunion and Heading Forward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I know that it's supposed to be an emotional chapter and not a funny one. But I'm bad at writing sad angsty stuff. I'm a fluff writer, not an angst writer. SO! I did my best with the emotional parts, and then had fun with the rest of the chapter.
> 
> Also, I was planning on having some NPC's from the game help Zelda once she gets off the plateau... buuuuut I was rewatching She-Ra the other day so I recommend reading the travelers voices as Seahawk and Mermista. I pray that it's funny. If not, sue me. (pls don't I'm a poor child who just graduated)

Zelda had stared off into the distance until the sun had fully risen, trying to figure out what the old man had ment. She was going to return to the temple anyway as she stored her journal there, but it seems there was something else waiting for her there. The princess started making her way back down the mountain, following her footsteps from before. 

By the time she had made it back to the gate the sun was high above her head. She jogged back down the path and hopped over the broken wall to the temple. It was empty, the old man was not there. “How odd.” She grabbed her journal and prepared to leave the temple behind, when…  
“Zelda.” She whirled around and saw the old man standing in front of Hylia’s statue. 

“Sir? How did you get here without me noticing?” 

“Zelda I believe that it’s time I reveal myself to you.” He ignored her questions and continued on. He glowed and changed into someone she recognized all too well.

“FATHER?!” She was in shock, the last time she had seen him was one hundred years ago… The girl dropped her journal to the ground and raced towards her father. 

“I missed you too, my daughter.” His hug was just as she remembered it.

“Father I don’t understand. Why didn’t you tell me? Why do you look like this? What’s going on?!” 

“My dear child, I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to overwhelm you when you had just awoken. As for my appearance… well I’m sure you can guess.”

“I thought you had died…”

“I did.”

He stopped his daughter from dropping. Wiping her tears away with a gentle brush of his hand. “I’m sorry Zelda. I couldn’t do my job as King properly, and you’re left to feel the guilt because of it. What happened was a tragedy, but it was not your fault. We could’ve never predicted that Ganon would appear from beneath the castle. If we did, I would've evacuated Castle Town years before it happened. I don’t blame you Zelda.” He lifted her head. “I’m so proud of you.”

“Father, what am I to do now? The Divine Beasts, Urbosa, Revali, Daruk, Mipha, and Link…they’re all gone!” 

“Zelda, they’re not gone. The Divine Beasts are where they’ve always been, Ganon cannot control them forever. And I assure you, your champions are still alive. And they need your help.” 

“And how am I supposed to help them?!” She had stepped away and picked up her journal at this point. Angry and confused she glared at her father, tears gathering in her eyes.

“Impa will know more about how you can help them.”

“Impa’s alive?!” 

“She is. She’s been waiting for your return in Kakariko Village. I assume you still know the way?”

“Of course I do! I just, it’s difficult to believe that she’s still alive after all this time.” Zelda stared at the silhouette of the Dueling Peaks. 

“You’ll need this to get off the plateau.” Her father was holding out a paraglider. She took it. “It’s a long fall, so please be careful.” The princess held the paraglider gently.

“Father I-”

“I don’t have much time, so I’ll say it one last time. I’m so proud of you Zelda, and I know your mother is proud too. I love you.” He started to fade with each word he spoke. Zelda rushed to get her own words out before he vanished completely.

“Father! I love you too.” and he was gone.

Zelda stood at the edge of the plateau, the sheikah tower just behind her. “Okay, here we go!” 

“One.”

“Two.”

“Three!” She jumped off the edge, paraglider held above her. 

She was barely a foot or two away from the ground when her arms decided to give up on her. Landing knocked the wind out of her, and her few belongings scattered around. “Wonderful.” 

“Miss, are you okay?!” Two hylians approached her prone form, and Zelda shot up into a sitting position.

“Yes! I’m fine, thank you! Um-” The female hylian handed her her journal.

“You must be an adventurer! We’re adventurers too! Where are you headed? We might be going the same way!” The male chatted. 

“Ignore him, he’s just overexcitable. So? Where you going blondie?”

Zelda had to remind herself that it’s been a hundred years, and that people might not know who she is anymore. “I’m heading to Kakariko Village…”

“Really?! We’re going to Hateno! AH! You can travel with us until we reach the stables!” This man really is excitable.

“Thank you, but I wouldn’t want to be a bother.”

The woman spoke again. “Please blondie, it’s a long way to Dueling Peaks stables, and there’s plenty of monsters along the way. And, not to sound rude or anything, but you don’t look like a fighter. So?”

The woman had made her point. Zelda sighed and took the hand the man had offered her. “I will accept your offer.”

“ADVENTURE!” The man pulled her over to a small, horse-drawn cart. 

“It’s gonna take a day or two to get there. Enjoy the ride.” The girls sat in the cart while the man drove it forward, he was singing an odd song that Zelda had never heard before. Something tells her that it’s going to be a long few days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As much as it would be, I'm not writing the journey to the stable. I'll admit that I really wanna get Zelda to Kakariko already, and it's a long game with lot's of travel involved. So I feel like writing the travel parts in-depth would drag the story on too much, plus with my current writing skill, I don't think I could make it entertaining. I will write some traveling parts, but not all. Anyways, next chapter Zelda will get to Kakariko and get a much needed meal and bath! 
> 
> I love you all, and I'll see you next chapter! Bye!


	7. A/N *pls read*

Hey guys, so I haven’t updated since June... and I’m sorry. It’s been a year, and that year is almost over, so I’m gonna be honest. I’ve had troubles with this fic for awhile, probably since I started writing it... I don’t like the pacing and my base ideas this fic started off on have changed a bit, especially after playing Age of Calamity all the way through. I might eventually rewrite this fic, but I honestly don’t know when or if it would just be better to start over. All I know is that, with the new ideas I have, it’s going to be nothing like it is now.

I have had another LOZ fic in the works for awhile now, but I’m not sure on how good it is. I might post it as a one-shot to start the new year off with you guys would like that.

Again, I’m sorry. And know that I’m going to be posting my reasons on why I haven’t updated my other works on those if you read them. 

Thank you, and I wish you all safe.


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